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CNN International: Pentagon Leaks Suspect Remains in Jail as Judge Weighs Bail; Reports of Fighting in Khartoum Despite new Truce Announcement; Source: Former U.S. VP Pence Testifies before Grand Jury; How did U.S. Military miss Sings about the Suspect; Activists to Rally Saturday to Push UK Government to Recognize Iran's Revolutionary Guard as Terrorist Organization. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 28, 2023 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to CNN "Newsroom", I'm Bianca Nobilo in London in for Max Foster. Just ahead, Russia launches a wave of deadly strike across Ukraine. We're live in the City of Uman as rescue teams search for survivors, and then a country's race to evacuate citizens from Sudan, as residents in the Capital tells CNN the fighting continues despite the extension of the ceasefire.

Plus, the suspect in the Pentagon leaks case will remain in jail for now as a judge considers bail. We'll have more details about the 21- year-old airman coming up. We begin in Ukraine where the number of casualties has been rising over the past few hours after intense rush and shelling.

You're looking at some of the devastation in the City of Uman, south of Kyiv. Rescue operations are taking place after an apartment building was struck. Well, authorities say at least 17 people were killed with that number expected to rise. Two others were killed in the City of Dnipro including a small child.

There were attacks on the capital of Kyiv too. Ukraine's air defenses it shot down 11 cruise missiles over the city's airspace. Nic Robertson is in Uman for us now with the very latest. Nic, before you tell us what you're witnessing there on the ground. Talk to us about why Russia would strike Uman.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's not clear why they would strike; residents here are telling us that there hasn't been a straight like this since March last year. So why now isn't clear. It's right in the center of Ukraine. The strikes on Kyiv as well the first time in 51 days the strikes they're all shot down 11 missiles, two UAV shot down by Ukrainian defenses across the country.

21 of 23 missiles fired Russian missiles fired at the country were taken down but this what you're seeing behind me is what happens if just one of those missiles gets through. You can see behind me -- zoom in there. You can still see the smoke coming out from the upper floors there. We just had a briefing from the police and they're telling us they haven't been able to clear that area yet. They're going to get to it but as debris pans down you'll see a lot of firefighters there in the smoke and debris looking at searching for bodies. The death toll continues to climb here.

17 dead we're told several bodies have been pulled out while we've been here. And we've been talking to eyewitnesses as well. A lady we spoke to just now is here at absolute floods of tears. Her friend lived in the apartment up on the eighth floor right up there. The husband is in hospital the wife miraculously got out OK but there's a 13-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old daughter believed to be somewhere stuck in the rubble not clear up there.

One of the eyewitnesses first on the scene here told us that he heard women and children screaming as soon as he got here they he said they rushed a woman to hospital but unfortunately she died is stories of absolute tragedy that clear up is going on around us here as we speak. The clear ups happening quickly the emergency services are all here.

But as -- around little more you'll see people waiting standing waiting to find out what's happened to their neighbors what's happened to loved ones. It is a very fraught situation for people living here, the apartment buildings all around here thousands upon thousands of people live here.

109 people registered in this particular apartment and as we understand for many of the survivors here, it was five o'clock in the morning. Most people were asleep in their beds. It's going to take some time before the police, that recovery services can really figure out the extent of the casualties here.

NOBILO: It is absolutely tragic Nic, and so heartbreaking as well to see almost the normalcy that we're used to now the emergency services getting into action so quickly Ukraine trying to rescue and then rebuild. Thank you so much for bringing us the latest from Uman. Nic Robertson there for us!

Migration in Europe tops Pope Francis's agenda during his three-day visit to Hungary. Early on Friday, he met with Hungary's President and Prime Minister at the Presidential Palace. During the public address that followed Pope Francis urged Hungarians to accept migrants and refugees.

He also urged an open dialogue to help in the war in Ukraine. This is the Pope's first trip since he was hospitalized for bronchitis last month. A new three-day truce is supposed to be underway in Sudan but witnesses are reporting heavy firefighting near the Presidential Palace in Central Khartoum.

Past ceasefires between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary rapid support forces have been repeatedly broken as countries evacuate their citizens.

[08:05:00] A Turkish evacuation plane was shot at over Sudan Friday morning. But the Turkish Defense Ministry says thankfully, the plane landed safely. CNN's David McKenzie has been monitoring these ceasefires, or as he's been telling us, you know, partially in name only most of the time from Johannesburg.

David, is another very inauspicious start to a ceasefire, because there are reports that fighting continues. What can you tell us and sort of where's the feeling about the likelihood that this will be maintained?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianca, there's not much to maintain at this moment. As you mentioned, the ceasefire was broken almost as soon as it was agreed upon by both sides. It's a U.S.-Saudi backed 72-hour ceasefire.

Now, it's impossible to really tell from where I'm sitting, the level of commitment to the ceasefire and whether there are some periods of calm, which at least I witness are telling us they are but in the early morning hours and onwards, in Khartoum, the Capital there have been fighting and airstrikes in multiple parts of the city.

According to eyewitnesses, you've also had the continued desperate attempt by foreign governments to get people out. And as you say, you look at some images, some still images of the strikes, or at least one bullet hole in that C-130 Turkish transport plane, which was coming into the Northern part of Khartoum to extract civilians out of the city.

And it speaks to the ongoing danger of both Sudanese and international citizens of trying to get out of the Capital and other parts of Sudan. There has been relatively deep criticism, I think of the U.S. government, by American citizens with family in Sudan who are unable to get people out and have criticized the U.S. government of not doing enough.

Now the State Department has said they are doing everything they can. And perhaps that incident at the Turkish C-130, excuse me that tried to come in and out is illustrative of the dangers here's the Secretary of States, Antony Blinken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We believe that the best way to have an enduring capability to help people leave soon and if that's what they so choose, is overland. And we are working to establish a process that would enable people to move overland to a place where they can more easily exit the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: As we've been reporting this week, of course, for those remaining in the country, many of them are just trying to hunker down and stay safe, trying to make that extremely difficult and fraught decision whether to try and leave their homes there is much evidence of marauding gunman and sometimes unclear from which fighting party looting, including leading hospitals looting food, taking over control of water points.

It's a very bad situation for civilians in Khartoum and many worry that once the foreign citizens are taken out of the country in substantial numbers that it could only get worse for them. That's at least the feeling on the ground there.

NOBILO: David McKenzie, thank you so much for bringing us the latest just such a terrifying situation for those who are trapped there with both options of remaining and leaving being fraught with so many dangers. Thank you. For the first time in modern history an American Vice President has testified about the President with whom he served.

Sources tell CNN that Mike Pence gave sworn testimony before a grand jury for more than five hours on Thursday. This is all part of the federal investigation of the 2020 presidential election, and Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results. The deadly riots at the U.S. Capital on January 6 2021, of course, followed those efforts.

Let's go now to CNN's Katelyn Polantz in Washington for her reporting on this story. Katelyn, over obviously, President Trump has been widely politically criticized; he's facing all of these legal dramas. What is the significance of his Former Vice President testifying?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Bianca, there are quite a bit of legal dramas, but this was drama that had really stretched out. It wasn't specifically a surprise that Mike Pence went in to testify under subpoena being compelled to go into the grand jury yesterday, but it quite it really was a moment to mark.

Once we did learn that he had testified it had gone through the court system he agreed to testify. Donald Trump had tried to block some of his testimony specifically wanted him not to speak about direct conversations that they had after the 2020 election leading up to that right at the Capital on January 6, in conversation when Donald Trump was pressuring Mike Pence.

But at the end of the day, Pence was going to have to testify about those things. And indeed yesterday through sources we learned not only was he at the courthouse all day long in Washington sitting with that grand jury secretly in answering their questions he testified for more than five hours to with them.

[08:10:00]

So there were many things that they would have been able to ask him about not just his experiences those specific moments with Donald Trump, but also his experiences, what he witnessed what he felt he was not only the person that Trump was speaking to as the Vice President and the President discussing their election, their loss of the election, Trump was saying please overturn the vote.

Pence was saying no, I will not. He also ended up being a victim. So the grand jury got to hear from him both as a witness and the person that the Capital rioters were going after shouting Hang Mike Pence, and so we don't know exactly what he said in this, but it was quite a significant moment for the history books, as well as for this January 6 investigation.

Prosecutors are going to be looking to see if there is something he said are many things he said that could be used in a case if they do plan to bring charges and bring an indictment at some point to the public's attention, Bianca.

NOBILO: Katelyn Polantz for us in Washington, thank you. The implosion of two regional U.S. banks sent shockwaves throughout the financial system last month. Now U.S. regulators are set to reveal the results of their investigations. The Federal Reserve releases its report on Silicon Valley Bank about three hours from now.

Officials have already described a "textbook case of mismanagement". Then the FDIC, the banking industry's insurance company were released its review of Signature Bank, which also failed. The two bank emergencies forced the federal government to intervene to prevent a nationwide bank run.

Let's bring in CNN's Chief Financial Reporter, Christine Romans for a preview of what we might be able to expect. So Christine, obviously, markets are looking shaky. There's a loss of confidence worries about the U.S. economy slowing sharply in recession fears, what impact might we learn to have on that?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It will be important to see just how isolated these two bank failures were. I mean, obviously, the effort to rescue those two banks was pretty unprecedented. And in the spotlight, again, today is First Republic Bank that is another bank that was until two months ago, very healthy and in fine shape.

But the worries about Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank and the fact that so many of their assets, so many of the deposits were uninsured, put the spotlight on First Republic as well. First Republic also had a lot of uninsured deposits. And people over the past weeks, and really since March 10, had been pulling money out of first republic $100 billion, we know walked out of the door First Republic to other banks where they could be insured, and with the perceived safety of different banks.

So we'll be very closely watching to see what happens with First Republic today. Even as we're going to learn more, in just a few hours from the Federal Reserve and from the FDIC about what exactly went wrong with Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank. Those were two banks that really had been very laser focused on specific industries.

One was crypto, the other one was tech. And they had grown very, very quickly with lots of assets and their compliance and the risk management had not grown as quickly as those banks had when interest rates started to rise and the economy got a little bit shaky and people started to pull money out.

It really revealed the weaknesses in those two banks. So we will teach an awful lot more, Bianca, in a few hours about just how isolated those situations may have been and what kinds of mistakes may have been made? What kinds of oversight may have been lacking to make sure that it doesn't happen again, Bianca?

NOBILO: Christine Romans, good to see you, thank you.

ROMANS: You too.

NOBILO: The Head of the U.S. Central Bank apparently it was pranked into thinking that he was talking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a video chat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Let me just say it's a great honor to speak to you today. I'm glad you've made time to speak to me and it's just great to be with you today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: A Federal Reserve spokesperson acknowledged that Chairman Jerome Powell spoke to someone who misrepresented themselves as Zelenskyy but that nothing confidential or sensitive was discussed and this happened back in January. New York Times reports that the pranksters were Russian supporters of Vladimir Putin.

Still to come new details emerge about the man accused of leaking dozens of highly classified military documents what we've learned about him coming up next.

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[08:15:00]

NOBILO: New details are emerging about the 21-year-old U.S. Air National Guardsmen suspected of leaking dozens of highly classified Pentagon documents. Federal prosecutors say a Jack Teixeira has a history of violent threats and kept an arsenal of weapons stashed in his bedroom at his home in Massachusetts.

Teixeira was arrested earlier this month and remains behind bars. Prosecutors say that he poses an ongoing threat to National Security and may still have access to classified information. So how did the U.S. Military miss these warning signs? Let's bring in CNN's Natasha Bertrand who joins me from the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Natasha, always great to speak to you! So that is the question that so many people have how were this this history of potentially violent threats, his personal views? How it all was missed in the vetting process or subsequent to him getting the job?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Bianca, that's exactly the question that the Pentagon and U.S. officials across the government are asking right now really trying to figure out whether they need to overhaul the entire vetting system, right in order to kind of catch these things in advance.

But interestingly, we don't know yet whether or not investigators who were looking into to shares history were aware of the fact that just three years before he had received this top secret clearance that he was granted by the U.S. government.

He had actually been suspended from his high school for making violent remarks and talking about bringing guns to school, talking about making Molotov cocktails and basically just scaring his classmates and he was suspended for that. And in addition to that, he actually applied for a firearm ID twice in the state of Massachusetts both times he was actually rejected for that ID because of that suspension that he had received from his school.

The local Police Department wouldn't even allow him to be granted this ID and yet, the U.S. Military evidently felt that he was suitable to receive a top secret clearance and work for the Military. So a lot of questions here about whether something went terribly wrong, whether the U.S. Military just did not view his suspension and his past as sufficient to prevent him from obtaining this kind of clearance. But they're doing a really hefty investigation now into all of this, Bianca.

NOBILO: And Natasha were hearing about this arsenal of weapons that he had seeing pictures of his bedroom with very militaristic decor, what more are we learning about him as a person and his beliefs?

BERTRAND: Yes, as prosecutor is outlined a lot of new information about this alleged leaker in court filings just earlier this week in an attempt to convince a judge that he should remain behind bars until his trial. And what they revealed is that he did have an arsenal of guns and other kinds of military style equipment in his bedroom when the FBI searched his room after he was arrested earlier this month.

And it also revealed according to these court filings that he had a pendant affiliated with the Russian Military kind of hanging on his bedroom wall. Now why is that significant? Well, a lot of the information that he is alleged to have leaked had to do with the war in Russia and Ukraine.

And he was reported to have made some sympathetic comments about the Russian Military. So also questions there about whether he had any, you know, sympathies towards the Russian government, while he had this top secret clearance.

[08:20:00]

But of course, the weapons stash is what led the FBI to be so careful when they arrested him and taking all of these major precautions because they simply did not know what he was capable of. But again, this raises a lot of questions about why?

Even while he had, you know, the stash of weapons in his room while he was making allegedly violent comments online throughout the course of his employment with the Air National Guard, talking about wanting to kill people, talking about preparing his van to potentially use it to shoot out of the back of it in crowded areas. Why was none of that flagged by the Pentagon? Those are the big questions are asking now, Bianca.

NOBILO: Yes and it picks the question of to what extent his colleagues were aware of some of these extreme views and bizarre behaviors. Natasha Bertrand, thank you so much for joining us really appreciate the chat. Coming up, Iranian activists in the U.K. call for protests Saturday will tell you what they're asking the British government to do when we return.

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NOBILO: Iranian activists in the U.K. are calling for a rally on Saturday demanding that the British government designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization. Activists and members of parliament have been pushing the U.K. to do for months what the U.S. has already done.

One British Iranian activist has become the face of this campaign after setting up camp outside the British Foreign Office and going on a hunger strike that has now entered its 65th day. Our Jomana Karadsheh has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Iran International, a powerful voice the Islamic Republic once silenced. The U.K. based opposition channel a terrorist entity, but it didn't stop there.

KARADSHEH (on camera): In November London's Met police notified the channel of serious security threats against a number of its journalists armed police were placed outside its studios but the threat had become so severe. British authorities could no longer guarantee their safety. And in February, Iran International announced it had no choice but to relocate to Washington.

KARADSHEH (voice over): This past year alone, the Met and intelligence services have foiled at least 15 plots they say, projected from Iran to kidnap or kill individuals, including U.K. nationals on British soil.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The IRGC have managed to infiltrate the U.K. to suppress our freedom of expression.

KARADSHEH (voice over): Many in the Iranian community say they're now living in a constant state of fear. Every time this couple go out to London protests, they tell us their children fear for their safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want to check our locks every night set up alarms. We are scared, our families--

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want a freedom of speech to be valued. We are living in the heart of democracy, and it doesn't look likely.

KARADSHEH (voice over): British-Iranians who have been gathering outside the Foreign Office demanding their government do more. They want Iran's Revolutionary Guards the IRGC to be designated as a terrorist organization, something the U.S. and a few other countries have done.

[08:25:00] Their demand is Vahid Beheshti's because the British-Iranian activist, journalist has been camped outside the foreign office on a hunger strike for more than two months. He was jailed twice and tortured before he fled his homeland 24 years ago.

VAHID BEHESHTI, BRITISH IRANIAN ACTIVIST AND JOURNALIST: They took everything away from us but I can say I was one of those lucky people who could run away and come out of the country. But they are here now. Here where we are sitting in front of Foreign Office is the safest place in London. I don't feel safe here.

KARADSHEH (voice over): We met Beheshti on his 59th day of surviving on a handful of brown sugar cubes and water. He says he's lost more than 17 percent of his body mass, too frail to get himself out of the wheelchair.

BEHESHTI: You feel your body start eating your muscles. But mentally and internally, I'm getting stronger.

KARADSHEH (voice over): Beheshti's voice is being heard more than 100 parliamentarians signed a letter to the Prime Minister urging the government to designate the IRGC with his wife, a British politician by his side. Beheshti is vowing to keep up the pressure. It's not only about Iranians, he says, this is about standing up for the most basic of British values. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Iran did not respond to CNN's requests for comment, but it has condemned similar designations in the past. A U.S. government spokesperson told CNN they have sanctioned more than 300 Iranian individuals and entities, including the IRGC.

The spokesperson says they do not comment on future designations but "we do not tolerate threats to life and intimidation of any kind towards individuals in the U.K. and we'll continue to use all the tools at our disposal to protect against any threats from the Iranian state." Thank you for joining me here on CNN "Newsroom", I'm Bianca Nobilo in London and "World Sport" with Amanda Davies is coming up next.

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